Six companies, including Nevada-based Microsoft Product Development Ltd., Clarion Co., Denso Corp. and Mitsui & Co., announced Tuesday they will cooperate to develop a car information system that can be operated by voice and will automatically read e-mail messages.
The six said they will launch the Windows CE For Automotive Forum to promote information exchanges among related industries. The two other firms are Aisin AW Co. and Xanavi Informatics Corp.
The six companies will adopt Microsoft's Windows CE, an operating system for small information terminals, as the OS for the new car information system.
The device is expected to let drivers to listen to e-mail messages while driving, operate car navigation systems by voice and automatically make phone calls by saying the name of the person they want to call, the firms said.
Clarion and Microsoft developed a similar information system in the United States that hit the market in 1998.
Microsoft, whose OS for personal computers is the world leader, hopes to achieve the same status with its OS for car information systems.